Bashir Ahmad has urged supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to refrain from defending the wrongdoings of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a post on X on Friday, the former special assistant to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on digital media warned that such actions could reinforce claims that the electoral body is biased in favour of the ruling party.
“I don’t know if it is only me, but I strongly feel that we, as supporters of the APC, should stop defending every shortcoming of INEC or its leadership,” he wrote.
“Doing so only fuels the allegations that the electoral body is working to favour our party in the upcoming elections, which is simply not true.”
Ahmed’s comment comes amid heightened scrutiny of the commission following the circulation of posts from an X account bearing the name “Joash Ojo Amupitan”, which appeared to support the APC during the 2023 general election.
INEC has since denied any link to the account, stating that its chairman, Joash Amupitan, does not operate a personal X account and has never engaged in partisan political commentary.
The clarification was shared in a statement posted by Olusegun Dada, special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on social media.
Reacting to the development, Ahmed cautioned that continued defence of INEC by APC supporters could undermine public confidence in the neutrality of the electoral umpire ahead of future elections.
